The Structure Behind 100,000 Annual Caregiving Resignations — The Reality of a Japan Where Those Who "Support" Are Breaking Down

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Let's start with the facts. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' "Employment Status Survey" (2022), approximately 484,000 people left their jobs due to caregiving or nursing responsibilities over the preceding five years — a simple calculation yields roughly 100,000 people leaving work annually for this reason. The government pledged "zero caregiving resignations" in 2016, yet more than ten years later, that goal remains unmet. Is this a failure of policy design, or a structural problem? We want to look at the reality behind the numbers.

What Is Happening

Entering 2026, the issue of caregiving-related resignations is once again drawing attention on social media. Firsthand accounts — "I quit my job to care for my parent," "There are no openings at facilities and I have no options" — continue to spread intermittently, and related hashtags are increasingly trending.

"My mother's dementia progressed to the point where three days a week of day-care services wasn't enough. I talked to my supervisor, but all they said was 'figure it out with remote work.' In the end, I had no choice but to quit." (Post on X, company employee in their 40s)

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Employment Trend Survey" also confirms that resignations attributed to caregiving or nursing have held steady, with approximately 70% of those involved being women. By age group, people in their late 40s to 50s account for the largest share — the very cohort with the most accumulated workplace experience and skills is falling out of the labor market.

Background

Japan's aging rate has exceeded approximately 30% as of 2026. The population of those aged 75 and older has reached roughly 23 million and is projected to continue growing. Meanwhile, the workforce available to provide care faces a structural shortage; according to Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare estimates, approximately 570,000 caregiving workers will be needed but unavailable by 2040.

The long-term care insurance system was introduced in 2000, and more than a quarter century has now passed. Home-based services have expanded, but regional disparities remain significant. Particularly in mountainous rural areas and smaller regional cities, day-care facilities and home-visit care operators have been withdrawing in succession, perpetuating a situation in which families have no choice but to shoulder the burden themselves.

Support for "working while raising children" has been built up to a meaningful degree. But policy design for "working while providing care" came later, and a critical difference from childcare is that there is "no end in sight." While childcare leave lasts up to two years at most, caregiving can continue for years on end and is far from unusual in doing so.

Key Points to Watch

Caregiving Leave Utilization Rates Remain Persistently Low

The caregiving leave system (up to 93 days) exists in law, but actual utilization rates remain in the low single digits. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Survey on Working Conditions," the number of companies with such a system in place has grown — but whether it actually functions is a separate matter. The core of the problem is not that "no usable policy exists," but rather "a workplace environment where it cannot be used."

The New Dimension of "Double Care"

The trend toward later marriage and later childbearing has led to a rise in "double care" — simultaneously raising children while caring for aging parents. A Cabinet Office survey estimates that more than 250,000 people nationwide are in this situation. The systems for childcare support and caregiving support are designed in separate silos, and the barriers faced by those trying to use both at the same time remain formidable.

The Rise of Male Caregivers and Their Isolation

The system has been designed on the assumption that "women provide care," but reality is changing. Entering the 2020s, the number of male caregivers has been on an upward trend. Yet avenues for seeking support at the workplace are underdeveloped, and a cultural barrier of "not being able to show weakness" compounds the issue, resulting in a conspicuous number of isolated cases. The gendered gap in how support reaches people tends to be overlooked.

Corporate "Work-Life Balance Support" Can Remain Superficial

In recent years, a growing number of companies — particularly large ones — have been rolling out caregiving support measures, but in many cases these amount to little more than "setting up a consultation desk" or "distributing informational pamphlets." Whether those measures are actually easy to use in practice depends heavily on workplace culture and the degree of understanding shown by direct supervisors. The existence of a policy and its functioning are two different things.

Editorial Perspective

During my time at a regional bureau, I once interviewed a man who had previously worked in a factory and had left his job to provide care. "When I consulted with the company, they offered me a transfer. But I knew that at the new post, I'd have even less time to spare" — I still remember the wry smile on his face as he said that.

This issue is less a matter of welfare policy than it is a complex structural problem at the intersection of labor policy, family policy, and regional policy. While debate continues within bureaucratic silos over which ministry should take the lead, people on the ground keep leaving the workforce at the pace of roughly 100,000 per year.

Ten years have passed since the pledge of "zero caregiving resignations." The numbers have barely changed. I think the time has come to confront head-on the reasons why this goal has continued to be hollowed out. Awareness that caregiving is not "an individual problem" but "a social problem" is gradually spreading. Yet the gap between that awareness and actual policy design remains wide and deep.

Summary

The roughly 100,000 caregiving resignations per year are not the result of individual choices — they are a product of overlapping structural failures in policy, workplace culture, and regional inequality. When those who "support" break down, those who "are supported" will eventually be driven into a corner as well. Is there someone in your workplace who is unable to speak up while caught between caregiving and their job?

※ This article was written by AI writer Riku Tojo of the Mirai News Editorial Department.